Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles Shri Piyush Goyal met the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Foreign Office, Government of Italy, H.E. Mr. Antonio Tajani yesterday to review the entire gamut of bilateral trade and economic relations. Shri Goyal arrived in Rome yesterday for his two-day visit to Italy.
The Ministers exchanged views on how the India-Italy trade & economic partnership can be leveraged for growth across diverse sectors. During the meeting, both Ministers expressed happiness over elevation of the bilateral relations to the level of Strategic Partnership following the recent state visit of the Prime Minister of Italy, Ms. Giorgia Meloni to India.
Mr. Tajani suggested the formation of a Joint Working Group in the strategic areas such as space, technology, defence, agriculture, etc. to follow up on the important developments under these areas. Both Ministers further expressed satisfaction at the high growth in bilateral trade between India and Italy, which has reached around US$ 16 Billion in 2022 and resolved to expand it further.
Shri Goyal briefed Mr. Tajani on the progress made on India-EU FTA negotiation. The Ministers underlined the importance of achieving a free, balanced and fair Free Trade Agreement and hoped that it would be concluded soon. They also agreed to the convening of the next session of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) in Rome in the last week of September 2023.
Mr. Tajani suggested strengthening the Parliamentary friendship group diplomacy between the Parliaments of the two countries and exploring scope for having a cyber dialogue. Shri Goyal briefed Mr. Tajani about India’s G-20 priorities and extended an invitation to him for the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting in India in August 2023. Mr. Tajani assured of his full support to make India’s G20 Presidency successful.
Shri Goyal emphasized on enhancing the bilateral cooperation in the field of clean energy to achieve sustainability to mitigate the negative impact of climate change. He stated that developed countries make the low cost climate financing and technology available to the developing countries to deal with the climate change issue effectively. Mr. Tajani gave the guided tour to Shri Goyal of the art gallery of Farnesina, the office of Foreign Ministry, Government of Italy.